I'm Michael, a photographer and avid hiker from Northern New Jersey. Just last year, I discovered the Catskill Mountains. My first hike was the northeastern section of Devil's Path - Indian Head, Twin, Sugarloaf and Plateau. That was, without a doubt, the hardest hike of my life. But I fell in love with the mountains that day, and I've now done 14 of the high peaks in total (3 were in the winter).

One of the biggest joys of hiking for me is the photography, and the Catskills offer so many spectacular spots. I could spend an entire day walking a riverside and finding intimate compositions. But what surprises me even more is how many open vistas there are from/near the summits. Below are a few of my favorite higher elevation views. Please click the descriptions below each image - it will take you to the Flickr page so you can view the full size image since the forum seems to be cropping each one.

Please let me know what you think! What are you favorite lookouts/ledges?

If anyone is viewing your photos on a mobile device (iPhone at least) they should click on your links to view the full photo. They are cut off on my phone.

The photos are awesome! Looks like you’ve done some hiking in the dark based on where you are at sunrise/sunset. Nothing better than watching a sunrise or sunset from a nice viewpoint! The eastern portion of Devil’s Path has some incredible viewpoints. I’m terms of favorite views, I’d have to say Wittenberg at sunrise is my favorite! I do that hike each year in August and it’s incredible!

I have done some hiking in the dark! Being 2.5 hours away, the drive consumes a lot of daylight. So I've started in the dark on a few occasions but I've yet to end in the dark to see a sunset. I hope that will change this summer. Wittenberg's summit was blew me away when I saw it the first time - I can see why it's your favorite. I can't decide between that, Panther, or West Kill. But there are many peaks I haven't done, so maybe I shouldn't pick yet. When I did Devil's path, it was extremely cloudy, so I missed out on most of the views. I hear Twin is spectacular, so I plan on doing that again as well.